


Finding Home

by danceamongtheroses



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon!Lance, Enemies to Friends, Hurt/Comfort, Knight!Shiro, Shapeshifting, Space Fantasy AU, basically lance misses his mom in every universe, hurt!lance, kinda??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7498821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceamongtheroses/pseuds/danceamongtheroses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro thought that the dragons were long gone.  After finding and wounding one, he finds that the dragon can turn into a human, and this boy just needs some help. And maybe a hug.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Home

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: uh, well I never thought I would get this far, but I guess you can try to make the space dragons intelligent and magical and to go along with it there are space knights meant to fight them. The dragons can (probably you dont have to!) turn into people to disguise themselves. Shiro can be one of the space knights and Lance can be a space dragon and despite their differences they become friends ; u ;

 

Shiro thought that the dragons were long gone. 

 

No one had seen one for hundreds of years. There were many tales of them, flying through space; their massive wingspan large enough to take out dozens of spaceships in one swoop. Flames from their mouth being hotter than any sun. But they were only stories told to children around a campfire. 

 

The only reason knights were around was for tradition and ceremony. Sure, they were occasionally made to go into a fight; when a new monster appeared in the galaxy or a couple of planets got into an argument that got out of hand; but even then, it had been fifty years since a group of knights actually fought in a full-scale battle. They were more glorified peacekeepers than heroic knights nowadays.

 

So why was he the one being sent out on a wild goose chase for a dragon?

 

Shiro sighed heavily as he piloted his ship through space. Alone in the vast expanse, he could sit in silence and reflect on just what led him on this bogus mission. 

 

A little old lady had called from some little, scarcely populated planet on the far edge of the galaxy, claiming a dragon had taken up residence in the atmosphere above. She had all but begged for the garrison to send a troop of knights to come and slay it. 

 

Everyone in the garrison laughed it off. “A senile old lady.” They joked. A single knight would be sent out, just to put the old woman’s mind at ease and prove there weren’t anymore dragon’s in the galaxy. 

 

And Shiro had been given the unlucky task.

 

He groaned as he slammed his head into the back of his seat. He had pissed off a higher ranking officer a few weeks back, outshining the pretentious ass in a new training exercise; and apparently, the man still held a grudge. Shiro had been sent off with a “you scored better in the exercise” and was expected to write a full report on his “encounter” when he got back. 

 

What a load of bull.

 

The planet way days away, even with one of the fastest ships the garrison had. Three whole days of nothing but silence and the occasional babbling to himself to keep him sane. Shiro didn’t think he could be happier to see the planet pop up on the radar.

 

He began to configure the coordinates that he had been given. Approximate locations of where the dragon had been seen. 

 

Flying closer to the area, he adjusted his radar to scan a smaller area, hoping that at least some little blip, an asteroid or a satellite knocked out of its orbit; anything of possible interest to write in the report.

 

As he glanced away from the view screen for a moment to look at the radar, he caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of his eye. Shiro whipped his head back and forth quickly from the screen to the radar. The radar showed that nothing was anywhere near him or the planet. Before he even had a chance to brush it off as his bored mind playing tricks, the ship lurched violently, knocking Shiro from his seat and onto the floor.

 

He scrambled to grab the controls, ignoring his body’s protests of being flung around. “What the hell?” he muttered angrily, trying to get a grasp on the situation. He looked out, seeing only the planet in front of him. 

 

There was nothing strange looking at all.

 

Unnerved, Shiro slid back into his seat, this time pulling the seat belt on for good measure. 

 

But he had no time to settle back in. A large shadow was suddenly cast overhead, descending closer and closer towards his ship.

 

Shiro flew the ship as fast as he could, trying to get out from under the shadow; before turning around to face what could not be.

 

A dragon. Larger than any battleship in space, the dragon was a proud, midnight blue. As it flapped its wings, Shiro could see that the wings faded into almost translucent, the stars shining through its wings and off its scales. Almost everything about the dragon screamed majesty, and if it hadn’t been almost about to kill him, Shiro would have taken a picture.

 

The dragon seemed to be looking at Shiro, sizing him up before taking off, back up higher into the sky.

 

Shiro took off after it; his mind racing through all the stories he had been told as a kid, trying to find one that actually told how the heroes managed to defeat the dragon. The only story he could think of that might possibly work, would be to hit the dragon's weak spot; a spot on the dragon’s stomach where the scaly armor was weakest.

 

He flew his ship faster, trying to get under the dragon. When he got close enough, he turned around, looking for anywhere where it might show that the scales were weaker. 

 

There was no spot anywhere that he could see where it would be ideal to hit. Damn it; he’d have to aim blindly, hoping that firing at a random spot on the dragon’s side would be enough to subdue it a little.

 

He picked a spot, making sure the phasers were locked on target, and fired. The ship bounced back a bit from the force, and a bright light flashed, temporarily blinding Shiro. Before he got his eyesight back fully, the dragon let loose a deafening roar. When he could finally see again, Shiro could see the laser left a mark on the dragon.

 

“I did it!” Shiro whispered excitedly. The first knight to see a dragon in a thousand years, and he’d wounded it in one shot! 

 

His victory was short-lived; the dragon immediately dove down, heading straight for the planet.

 

Crap.

 

Once again he followed the dragon. He lost sight of it just as he passed the planet's dense clouds. 

 

It couldn’t have gotten far. He thought. Where could a massive dragon hide after only being out of sight for a few seconds?

 

Shiro flew his ship around the area, keeping his radar and eyes open for anything unusual. Off in the distance he saw a cave. Perfect place for a dragon to hide; out of sight, and couldn’t be picked up on the radar. 

 

He landed his ship nearby, making sure that his gun was fully charged before stepping out.He didn’t know how much good a simple raygun would be against a dragon, but it was better than walking up to it empty handed.

 

The cave wasn’t very large, at least not large enough to hide a dragon, from what Shiro could tell.

 

Looking around quickly told him that the dragon wasn’t here, and he turned to leave when a sharp, human-like hiss came from a small alcove of the cave as if someone was moving in pain.

 

He raised his weapon, moving slowly and cautiously towards the back of the cave. “Who’s there?” He called out, his voice echoing on the empty walls. In the quiet of the cave he could hear ragged breathing and slight shuffling.

 

“I’m a knight of the garrison!” He said, hoping to lure the person out. If they were hurt they would need medical attention as soon as possible. “I won’t hurt you!”

 

A barking laugh rang throughout the cave. “And why should I trust the one who shot me, knight?” The voice hissed the word as if it were dirty. 

 

Shot him? 

 

As Shiro got closer he pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket, shining it on the figure curled up in front of him. 

 

As the light shined on the figure it curled further into itself, trying to seem as small as possible. It was a boy, Shiro figured, and couldn’t be more than 18 years old. He wore baggy clothes that had definitely seen better days; it was amazing they hadn’t just fallen off of his body already. His dark brown skin was pale from blood loss, and the little skin on the boy’s shoulders and neck that Shiro could see had darker patches. He leaned closer to get a good look. Scales, so dark blue that they almost appeared black, and reflected the light from the flashlight.

 

The dragon.

 

“You- you’re!” Shiro was at a loss for words. He lowered his gun to get a better look. “But how?”

 

The boy tried to laugh, but it was too breathy to even be called that. “There’s only a few of us left in the universe. We had to find a way to adapt.” The boy tried to shift his position, hissing in pain as he turned. “It’s easier to hide if we look more like the people who try to kill us.”

 

“You’re hurt.”

 

“You don’t say?” The boy drawled. “Shouldn’t be a surprise; you’re the one who did this to me.”

 

“You were terrorising the planet!” Shiro argued.

 

“I was flying in the atmosphere, minding my own business. I wasn’t hurting anything!”

 

Shiro sighed heavily. The boy was right; even though the old woman had said there was a dragon, no one had said that the dragon had actually done anything.

 

The boy spoke up again, his voice having more of an edge to it. “If you’re going to kill me, do it fast.”

 

Shiro could practically feel his stomach turn. He couldn’t possibly; the dragon was just a kid! A voice spoke up from the back of his mind. You are a knight. This is your job. Imagine what all the hardasses back at the garrison would think if you actually killed a dragon.

 

But, he was never actually given orders to kill the dragon, he argued back with himself. There was nothing to lose if he let the boy live.

 

“I’ve got medical supplies back at my ship, if you come with me I could fix you up.”

 

That got the boy’s attention.His head whipped around and he glared at Shiro. “You’re lying.” He spat.

 

“I’m not.” Shiro forced a calm smile on his face, trying to show the boy that he wasn’t as scary as he seemed. “I’ve got food and water on my ship as well; if you come back with me you’re more than welcome to have some.”

 

The boy looked at Shiro with disbelieving eyes, but he slowly moved towards Shiro. “I’ll need help getting there.” He said quietly. Shiro bent down and picked up the boy, careful not to touch the injured side too much. The boy still yelped in pain as Shiro adjusted his grip. 

 

“When was the last time you ate? You barely weigh anything for a dragon.” Shiro said, trying to tease the boy. The boy just turned his head and hid it in Shiro’s shoulder. It had probably been far too long since the kid had any sort of real food.

 

They managed to make it to the ship without any difficulty. Shiro put the boy on the floor, rolling up a shock blanket and putting it behind him so he’d have some comfort and got to work on tending to the boy's injuries.

 

The silence on the ship was unbearably uncomfortable, so Shiro took it upon himself to break it. “So, kid, do you have a name?”

 

The boy muttered something, too soft for Shiro to catch.

 

“I’m sorry, what was it?”

 

“Lance.” The boy said, turning his head to face Shiro. “Tell me yours.”

 

Shiro chuckled. “It’s Takashi Shirogane, but you can just call me Shiro.”

 

“Hey Shiro, where’s that food you promised me?” Lance asked, getting more confident that he was safe, at least for now. 

 

Shiro paused for a moment and rooted through the med bag, pulling out a protein bar and a bottle of water. “Start with this.”

 

Lance grumbled under his breath, but took the bar and water, holding the water close to himself as he ate the bar like Shiro might try to take it away.

 

A few more minutes passed before Shiro spoke again. “So what were you doing up there, anyway?”

 

Lance swallowed the last bite of his bar and opened the water. “Someone on another planet said another dragon was seen flying around here a few months ago. I came to see if I could find anyone.” 

 

“And did you?”

 

Lance shook his head. He tilted his head back and took a long drink of water, a little bit escaping and running down his chin before hitting the floor. “If there had been, they haven’t been around in months. There were no signs that anyone was here.” 

 

“Take off your shirt so I can finish up.” Shiro said firmly. Lance did as he asked, and Shiro could see the scales on Lance’s body in full now; rough, scaly patches scattered about his body. “You can blend in with humans like this?” 

 

Lance looked away from Shiro. “Sort of.” He answered quietly. “There's no scales on my face or hands, so if I wear long clothes I can get away with it for a while. Eventually someone notices if I stay somewhere too long, and I have to leave.”

 

Shiro was silent as he wrapped a bandage around Lance’s torso, just listening to him talk.

 

“Why are you helping me?” Lance eventually asked. “You’re a knight, you’re supposed to kill my kind. And you’re the one who hurt me in the first place.”

 

Shiro shrugged, tying off the bandage and handing Lance back his shirt. “Knights don’t really slay anything anymore. When I shot you, you scared me a bit; you’re so big! I guess my instinct was to fight.”

 

Lance choked back a laugh as he pulled his tattered shirt back on. “You humans have terrible instinct then.” He reached across Shiro and grabbed the medicine kit. “You got any more of those bars? I’m starving.”

 

Shiro reached into an inside compartment and pulled out a few more. Lance snatched them up and ate one hungrily.

 

“When you said you were looking for another dragon, were you looking for anyone in particular?” Shiro asked, watching Lance scarf down a second protein bar.

 

“My mom.” Lance admitted with his mouth full. “We got separated about fifty years ago.”

 

He said it so casually that Shiro is sure he’s misheard. “Fifty? Just how old are you?”

 

“Older than you, by a lot probably.” Lance responded. Silences fell over the ship yet again, and this time, Lance is the one who breaks the silence. “Why are you helping me?”

 

The question took Shiro by surprise, and he thought carefully before responding.  “I’ve never met a dragon before. How do I know if they are inherently bad? Everything I had been told was that dragons are bad, so that’s probably why my instinct was to fire at you. When I realized I was wrong, that’s when I decided to help you.”

 

Shiro pulled another water bottle out of the kit and hands it to Lance before closing it and putting it back where it belongs. “Do you know where you’re going after this?”

 

“Not sure.” Lance answered. “It’d be hard to get off this planet now that people know there’s a dragon. It’s not exactly easy to hide in my true form. And once I get off, I don’t even know where I’ll go. I’ll probably try looking for my mom again.” He took a breath, and Shiro could hear his breath stutter as he tried not to cry.

 

“Do you miss your mom?” 

 

“More than anything.” Lance's voice shook, and a few tears that had threatened to fall now roll down his cheeks.

 

Shiro sat down beside him, pulling Lance into a hug. Lance began to sob, hiding his face in Shiro’s shoulder, his tears soaking Shiro’s shirt. 

 

He wondered just how long it had been since Lance had been able to open up to anyone; not having to worry if they were going to find out what he was. When was the last time Lance felt the comforting feeling of not being alone? Wondering if he would ever get to see his mom again; if she was even still alive.

 

It had been a weird day, Shiro thought. This morning he didn’t even believe dragons had existed, then he fought one, wounded it, patched it up, and now he was comforting it as it cried, missing its mom.

 

“What’s your mom like?” Shiro asked when Lance had stopped sobbing. Lance wiped his eyes and sniffled a bit.

 

“She’s great!” Lance said, his voice raw from crying, but Shiro could hear the pride in his voice. “When I was little, me and my siblings would curl up next to her at night, and she would breath flames over us to keep us warm.” Shiro tucked away the fact that Lance had siblings as a question for another time. “When we would transform, she was an amazing cook too! She had spent a long time hiding around people, and could cook all sorts of food!” Lance’s eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as he thought about the food. “She gives great hugs too.”

 

“Why don’t you come with me?” Shiro asked suddenly out of the blue. Lance looked at him like he was crazy, so he clarified. “You’d be safe with me; you could stay in my quarters at the garrison. Families are allowed to live there with the knights, so you’d be able to have some freedom, as long as you covered up the scales when you left. We'd just lie and tell them you're a distance cousin and have nowhere else to go. And I could keep my eyes open for other dragon sightings. Maybe you’d find your mom that way.”

 

Lance looked at him skeptically. “You’d do that for me?” 

 

Shiro nodded. “Consider it payback for shooting you.”

 

“And what if someone finds out I’m a dragon, or we do find my mom; how would I get off the planet?”

 

Shiro thought for a moment. “If someone discovers what you are, or if we find your mom, I’ll help you get off the planet. You just have to promise me one thing.” Shiro said with a grin.

 

“What is it?” Lance hesitated.

 

“That when we find your mom, we leave together. I resign at the garrison, and we look for her together. I hear she has great cooking, and I need to taste it myself.”

 

Lance smiled. “You’d leave the garrison just so I could find my mom?” Shiro nodded, and Lance looked as if he could cry again. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

 

Shiro discovered Lance could be quite energetic and loud when he wanted to be. It would be a long three days back with Lance cooped up in the ship. He had never flown in one, always using his dragon form to get from place to place. There wasn’t a second seat in the small ship, so as they were flying, Lance kept bouncing around in excitement, telling Shiro about the places he’d been, more stories about his mom. Every once in awhile Shiro would have to remind him they were flying, and he was injured, so Lance would still down on the ground for a moment before leaping back up to tell Shiro something else that he thought was important. 

 

Shiro smiled as Lance talked, every so often jumping into the conversation to ask a question or telling Lance about Earth. 

 

“Woah, what is that?” Lance said in wonder, looking as the Earth came into view. Shiro turned in his seat and smiled at Lance.

 

“That, my friend, is home.”


End file.
